Save GA
by Save GA
Summary: The reason we're making this post is because recently, fellow GA authors/readers have been worried and stressed over this slump that the GA archive has fallen into. We - Save GA - decided to finally voice those thoughts to try and help revive this fandom. The future of the GA archive is in all of your hands - what will you do?
1. Introduction

Hey guys! I've been a part of the Gakuen Alice (GA) fandom since 2012 (although I've been a guest on this site sine 2008). That gives me 2-6 years on this site depending on how you see it. I know that's not a long time, but I feel as though I've become a big part of the GA archive over the years - I almost feel like I have an obligation to keep the GA fandom rich and bright with fanfics. Call me crazy! ;D

Just a note: I say 'I' because the people who decided to act on the GA fandom decided on one person to write this intro and I volunteered. This isn't just a single person - this is many people.

Anywho~ the reason I'm making this post is because recently, my fellow GA authors/readers and I have been worried and stressed over this slump that the GA archive has fallen into. I've decided to finally voice our thoughts to try and help revive this fandom as, like I said before, I feel as though I have an obligation to this archive. Here are our worries and thoughts:

How many times have you seen the _'rich boy meets nerdy girl' _cliché? Or the_ 'Mikan's in the dark abyss of life and won't allow anyone to help her'_? '_Mikan/Natsume is actually rich but dresses up to appear poor and nerdy'?_

Recently, the story quality hasn't been that of what it used to be. Think of the famous authors on here - My Hopeless Romantic, JC- zala, Shiori90210, Ducky-san, keaRy anCe. That's the old GA fandom. Now, it's full of repetitive clichés that have little sense of writing dos and don'ts. The major problems include:

1) Lack of description. DESCRIBE, DESCRIBE, DESCRIBE! What are the character's reactions physically? Emotionally? What are their mental processes? How do they feel about the situation? What's the scenery? All of these are necessities in a successful story. Try to incorporate these when writing and when rereading to edit; think of them again and again!

2) Characters. Many of the writers of the GA archive are younger as the show attracts a younger audience. When you're 12 trying to write a story wherein Mikan and the crew are 16 or older, you need to write them as if they were 16 year olds. Older people process situations differently and react differently than younger people. They're more mature and have an idea of their ideals and morals which guide them through their life. Instead of reacting to a scary situation by running away, they may stay and fight in order to maintain their ideal of "Fight for what you believe in" or "Never run or hide from your problems; it only prolongs the outcome". When writing, try to keep in mind the basic fundamentals of your character's age group. If you don't know, ask someone of that age or who has been that age. It makes a huge difference in your story overall!

3) Tone. A lot of the time, writer's tone changes throughout the story. That's fine. But when it suddenly goes from a mature, logic voice of the story and changes to something more goofy and unreasonable within the _chapter_, that's not okay. Tone changes based on situations but the underlying tone is always the same. The only way that the underlying tone should change is when the narrator - when in first person POV (I, me, we) - has a transformation. IE: Natsume going from hating the world to accepting people's differences. The tone would change from bitter and condescending to something akin to forgiveness and understanding. Natsume would still act Natsume-ish, but his tone - the story's tone - would change in the slightest. Underlying tone can only change through the course of the story, so don't keep switching it throughout every chapter.

4) Bad Habits. One bad habit that many of you have is writing a character profile in the first chapter (and sometimes in all of the following) before the chapter begins. Sometimes, there'll be some who don't have a direct profile but still summarize the characters in one go. How many times have you seen:

_Mikan Sakura_

_Age: 17_

_Likes: Hotaru and howalon_

_Dislikes: Natsume and school_

_Appearance: Brown, long hair, brown eyes, short, heart-shaped face, school uniform_

Reading these summaries are rather boring and dampen the story in a sense. Try to incorporate the character's features throughout the chapter in portions. IE: "Stop that!" Mikan shouted, amber eyes alight in determination. OR "Natsume's raven bangs fell over his eyes, concealing the inner turmoil they would surely proclaim." DO NOT DO "Natsume had short raven hair, red eyes and a tanned face. He usually wore earrings lining his ear and a scowl on his lips." This falls under the concept 'Show Don't Tell'. Don't say, "He was skinny," go further in debt by writing, "The man's clothes hung limply around the bony frame of his body. He presented me a drawn smile, causing his entire face to morph into a withdrawn mask."  
>Another bad habit is grammar, spelling and capitalization. Many forget periods, causing run-ons, or they add too many periods resulting in fragments. Same goes for commas which are oddly placed. Read the story aloud and figure out where you want a pause. That's where commas are required. Otherwise, don't use them! Unless they fall under the select cases where you need a comma of course. For capitalization, all people, places and names need to be capitalized as well as anything following a period. There's no reason for anyone to be spelling words wrong! There's a spell check tool on FF and in word; use it!<p>

5) Narratives. GA writers commonly use a childish tone. Narratives should be professional - formal. To some, it may seem funny; but to those who are more mature, it gets tedious and annoying. If you're writing on FanFiction to improve your writing, write more formally - don't use phrases that degrade the story with their childish antics.

6) Japanese. Refrain from using Japanese within the story. Writing legit Japanese phrases can cause confusion and many people don't know the language as well as you and thus, don't understand the sentence and its context. The only acceptable phrase to use is honestly baka. It's such a common term and especially in GA so everyone usually knows it. Otherwise, it loses us, the readers.

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><p>Now for some definitions to help ya'll better understand sentences and punctuation:<p>

**Clause **is a group of related words that does not contain a subject-verb relationship. Also called "phrases". There are two types of clauses:

**Dependent Clause **is a group of words with a subject and a verb. It does not express a complete thought so it is not a sentence and can't stand alone. _The cat playing with the ball_

**Independent Clause **is a clause that can stand by itself; also known as a simple sentence. _The cat playing with the ball is named Whiskers._

**Simple Sentence** is a sentence consisting of only one clause, with a single subject and clause. _He was upset._

**Compound Sentence** is a sentence of two or more independent clauses joined by a comma or **conjunction **(and, but, or, etc). _I finished my homework and now I can watch TV._

**Comma **is a punctuation mark (,) indicating a pause between parts of a sentence. It is also used to separate items in a list. _Almost instantly, he rushed over to her._

**Period** is used to show the end of a sentence. _The deed was done__**.**_

**Semi-colon** is a punctuation mark (;) indicating a pause, typically between two main clauses/phrases, that is more pronounced than that indicated by a comma. It usually unites two sentences into one or creates a compound sentence. _He was a boy of fourteen years__**;**__ his sister still called him the babe of the family._

**Colon** is a punctuation mark (:) indicating a list of items or that a writer is separating two clauses of which the second expands or illustrates the first. _"You need to get__**:**__ flour, eggs, paper towels, chips and apples."_

**Dash** (-) is a 'super-comma'. _She was depressed, afraid __**-**__ lonely. _

**Run-on**_ is when two more independent clauses are united with incorrect punctuation and/or conjunctions. There were no more seats left, we had to sit in the back. _Correction: There were no more seats left. We had to sit in the back. OR There were no more seats left; we had to sit in the back.

**Fragments**_ fails to be a sentence in the sense that it cannot stand by itself. It does not contain even one independent clauses. Basically an unfinished thought/dependent clause. Addressing the crowd - The candidate addressing the crowd - While the candidate addressed the crowd._

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><p>This isn't an issue with just the authors, however.<p>

Readers, authors rely on you for input! That's why there's a review option - that's why we post our stories! When you don't review at all or simply review 'Update soon!', THAT'S NOT HELPFUL. It doesn't help any of us in improving which is the ultimate goal of FanFiction. Please, please, please, help us all by reviewing your thoughts, opinions, predictions. If you like the story, do the author a favor for creating something you like: help them improve.

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><p>We have created a community, <strong>Writing Whims<strong>, for the sole purpose of reviving the GA fandom. It's full of stories that we think should be used as models - stories which those who are lost can learn from. Our staff consists of authors who we believe are capable of answering questions and giving admirable advice so please, feel free to PM any and all of them, asking questions upon questions.

If you feel as though you'd like to be a part of **Writing Whims **staff, PM this account and we will send you an invite! Otherwise, please, check out the community and refer to it when you have writers block, want to remember how to punctuate dialogue, or if you're simply bored.

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><p>The GA archive is practically dead in the sense of reviewers and writers. Let's work together to help bring back the old GA; let's create a fandom that you can proudly boast of plentiful, insightful reviews that were hard earned!<p>

Now, I know some may take offense from this. I really, honestly hope you don't take this too personally! I wrote this not to degrade anyone or hurt anyone's feelings. I wrote it to bring back the GA archive that I love and admire. If you want that too, then follow this story. I will be posting new 'lessons' so to speak as often as I can. If you're an author, it'll contain tips to improve your story as well as writing rules such as Dialogue Punctuation. If you're a reader, it'll tell you things that authors want you to look for in their story and how your reviews can help more than ever! In a sense, my goal is to beta the GA archive via this story. If you don't understand a topic or have further questions or recommendations as to what I should teach next, PM or review.

**1) Review your thoughts on this post and our goals.**

**2) Follow if you find this act beneficial.**

**3) Follow and refer to _Writing Whims_, the community we created.**

**4) Grow!**

The future of the GA archive is in all of your hands - what will you do?

_**Sincerely,**_

_**Save GA**_


	2. Formatting

We're going to try and start at the basics then continue to harder topics. Keep in mind that this is the norm for the fic. When we say 'wrong', it's not the norm for the fic; when we say 'right', it is the norm for the fic.

**Authors:**

**Formatting**

Today, I write of formatting. Many author's use the correct format but many also use formats that can be difficult to read or are actually delaying their progress in becoming a better writer.

The 'correct format' doesn't involve character summaries before every chapter or even before one. Omit any and all summaries.

**Wrong:**

_Mikan Sakura_

_Age: 17_

_Likes: Hotaru and howalon_

_Dislikes: Natsume and school_

_Appearance: Brown, long hair, brown eyes, short, heart-shaped face, school uniform_

**Right:**

_A girl with long, cascading curls walked out of the apartment complex. She shifted her oversized sunglasses down her nose and peered across the street, caramel eyes flickering from store to store. ETC. ETC. ETC._

Another common error is spacing. In order to help the reader read the story more clearly, have a double indent between every paragraph.

**Wrong:**

_He sat in the chair and sighed._  
><em>She watched him pull out his paper and place his cigar in his mouth.<em>

**Right:**

_He sat in the chair and sighed._

_She watched him pull out his paper and place his cigar in his mouth._

Also, dialogue should be separated from all paragraphs. Only dialogue tags ('he said', 'she nodded', 'he sat', 'she whined', 'he chuckled', 'she chirped') and phrases describing the dialogue or actions surrounding the dialogue should be in the same paragraph.

**Wrong:**

_...and he couldn't think of any reason as to disagree. "Fine," he begrudgingly agreed. "I'll let this slide just this once." "Thank you so much, Natsume!" Mikan twirled once, a bright smile decorating her face. "I won't let you down!"_

**Right:**

_...and he couldn't think of any reason as to disagree._

_"Fine," he begrudgingly agreed. "I'll let this slide just this once."_

_"Thank you so much, Natsume!" Mikan twirled once, a bright smile decorating her face. "I won't let you down!"_

When there's a time-skip that isn't momentous (ie: weeks, multiple days or years) then use the line presented in the FanFiction toolbar.

**Wrong:**

_We bid farewell and started to our houses._

_"What the heck?" I screamed upon my arrival to my house._

**Right:**

_We bid farewell and started to our houses._

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><p><em>"What the heck?" I screamed upon my arrival to my house.<em>

Another idea, recently brought to attention by a reviewer, is thought processes. Direct thoughts should be italicized.

**Wrong:**

I thought, It should be fine; he won't know.

**Right:**

I thought, _It should be fine; he won't know._

Narratives, however, are not thought processes:

**Wrong:**

_I peered around the corner and tip-toed to the counter._

**Right:**

I peered around the corner and tip-toed to the counter.

Also, flashbacks are another formatting issue. As a common rule here in FanFiction in general, flashbacks should be in italics. If anything is supposed to be stressed and would normally be italicized, _un-italicize_ the word. Also, don't use bold either. Bold is used for Author's Notes alone.

**Wrong:**

_To me, it wasn't scary - it was fun._

**_Wrong:_**

_To me, it wasn't scary - it was **fun.**_

**Right:**

_To me, it wasn't scary - it was _fun.

Another topic is Author's Notes. They should be in bold and separated by the aforementioned line-breaker. Also, try not to use Author's Notes within the actual story; it ruins the flow you have created.

**Wrong:**

_He sung a soprano **(AU: highest key).**_

**Right:**

_*mentions meaning in Author's Note in beginning of story*_

_He sung a soprano._

That's all that I can surmise for formatting. If you have any other recommendations for formatting, PM/review and let us know! Thanks!

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><p><strong>Readers:<strong>

If you notice any of these formatting aspects in an author's story, let them know! They can't fix their writing if they don't know what's wrong with it.

Also, it's awesome to give tips, but remember to explain the components that you liked in their story. Otherwise, they may change that as well. Try to write everything as nicely as possible as well. We appreciate any and all reviews with opinions but some may not find harsh critiques helpful and could take great offense. Just because you can't see one another because we're online, doesn't mean there isn't a person on the other end of your review. That's obvious but many people degrade this fact, finding it easy to flame on someone when they can hide behind a screen.

Reviews don't even have to be long - although, those are exceedingly nice. A simple, "I really like your descriptions but your grammar could use some work; remember that commas aren't semi-colons!" is just as awesome to us as a 5 paragraph essay on tips on scenery : )

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><p>Thank you all so much for reading and hope this helped! Any questions? PM or review and we'll be sure to respond. Check out our community, <em><strong>Writing Whims<strong>_; it has model stories and our staff is always willing to help with any and all questions.

Also, if you have any recommendations or thoughts you'd like to be heard to improve this archive, PM us! We'll be sure to include your advice : )

**Sincerely,**

**Save GA**


	3. How To Make Your Fanfic More Interesting

**"How To Make Your Fanfic More Interesting"**

Mostly with cliches, it depends on if you can take the cliche your story is about and make it interesting in your own way.

For example, say two people write about a cliche we've seen quite a bit in this fandom (i.e. Mikan is a nerd and Natsume is the official cool guy).

Person A writes the common route of this cliché: Mikan has a traumatic experience, causing her to falter into an 'unacceptable' person of society. She falls and Natsume sees her polka dotted underwear - their first meeting. Natsume notices her because she's the only female within a fifty-mile radius who isn't swooning over him. He A) tries to make her fall for him or B) decides to tease her incessantly, causing the hazing she endures to be worse. Natsume, then, one day says, "No one else can tease her except me," which leads to their romance. Natsume and Hotaru help transform her into a beauty (or she stays the same but is more accepted as Natsume likes her) and all is happy.

How many times have you seen something akin to this plot line? 10? 20? 30? Over the years, I've seen it an estimated 50 times perhaps. However, if you simply put your own twist and write with the help of an intellectual friend who can enhance the story's effect...

Person B writes of Mikan as a true 'nerd', loving books simply for the thrill of new adventures at her hands; wearing big, goofy glasses because they were the most practical price and would help her eyesight; donning drab clothes because they were cheapest and feel comfortable, etc. Natsume, so uncaring of his grades, is required to take a tutoring program in his school, which Mikan decided to take to look good on her resume for her dream job as a teacher. She helps Natsume study and he sees how, despite her revolting appearance, she was the most refreshing, original girl he had met. The rest is history.

Anything similar to this plot line or simply different from the first scenario is a step in the right direction. Between the two, which have you read the most? Which would you rather read? Now, clichés aren't always wrong to write. One could write a cliché as the first scenario, but authors should keep in mind that a fandom full of the same stories isn't really enticing to a reader.

Also remember that when creating stories, the plot is one-half of the story, but how you write the characters involved in the plot can determine how far the story can go. Have you ever read a summary of a story and thought, 'This sounds like such a good story!' but somehow, there's something off, and it ruins the plot completely? Most likely, it's the characters.

People read this archive to see Mikan, Natsume and their friends go on several, never heard-before adventures. So when they come and see Mikan as this ballistic, tempered rebel and Natsume as a comical yet quiet boy, it's troublesome to them. Sure, you can make Mikan be a ballistic, tempered rebel but you need to have a reason and most of all, you need to _maintain Mikan's character. _

We see it all the time - when a friend is acting strange and you have to ask if they're okay; when a sibling is being especially temperamental with you and you know something's going on. And yet, they're still your friend, right? They're still the sweet-hearted, caring and humorous friend - they're just upset. They're still your sibling, right? They're still your annoying, considerate and spoiled sibling - they're just having trouble. The same is applied to characters.

Mikan's still Mikan, even if she's a ballistic, tempered rebel. Beneath that, she needs to still be caring, happy-go-lucky, etc. IE: Mikan becomes a rebel but it's honestly just her happy-go-lucky self not realizing the consequences of her actions; Mikan becomes temperamental but it's because she hasn't been getting sleep as she tries to reach her scholarship goal for college, etc.

Basically, only add something to a character when it's a realistic side-effect of something that leaves the character as him/herself. Remember that characters drive the plot all the way home, but plot can only take your characters so far.

However, try to avoid writing about these cliches unless you are confident that you can make it your own:

-Natsume is the cool guy and he, for some reason, is interested in this nerd because she doesn't show interest in him or hates him

-Mikan is a secret agent/spy, often has a paragraph long description about her outfit, most likely including black boots

-Natsume and gang sometimes tag along in this secret agent/spy idea

-Natsume is a rich heir to a major (world) corporation (most likely named something similar to Hyuuga Corps/Inc.)

-Mikan is also rich, but because some backstabbing corporation either killed her parents or destroyed their company, she had to go into hiding. Her name is changed from Yukihara to Sakura or vice versa

-Mikan is betrayed by OOC-gang who had a bad day and took it out on her, Mikan takes an offer most likely mentioned three paragraphs before to go to another Gakuen Alice school in some other continent

-She becomes emotionless and detached and has an extremely hard training regimen

-She beats everybody in a straight-up fight and when she returns everybody begs her to forgive them

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><p>If you want to avoid these cliches, it brings up the question: how do we create more original stories?<p>

Good question. Simple answer: take inspiration _everywhere._

When you go outside, try to look for things that could possibly be used in a story. Are you at a bus station? Then write a story where two characters meet at a bus station; one notices the other because they're carrying a lot of things, or their music is too loud and annoying, etc. At a bookstore? Write a story where one person works at the bookstore and the other is a regular who arrives at exactly the same time every week. At the grocery store? Write a story where a person goes to the grocery store on an errand every Sunday but always finds a zucchini in some aisle, somewhere; intrigued by this mystery, the person goes down on a mission to find the one who misplaces the zucchinis.

Take inspiration from many things:

1. Songs -especially vocaloid. There are thousands and thousands of songs out there that can be interpreted differently. They will always create an original, inspiring and intriguing story.

2. Poems! Just like songs, poems can be interpreted in a thousand and one ways because of their vague length. Take a poem you read and write an in depth novel inspired by that. Guarantee it'll turn out amazing!

3. Whatever inspires you and makes you believe that you can make it into an interesting story. Go for anything!

One fail-proof way to make sure that this potential story is one people would be interested in, is to think about whether _you _personally would be interested in it.

If you saw that zucchini-story floating somewhere in this archive, would you want to read it?

If yes, _then write it. _

If not, then don't. There are always _tons _of other interesting stories waiting for you to write, so _write them. _

Also, Alternate Universes are _always okay!_

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><p>We thought it would be a good idea to post a Q&amp;A at the end of every chapter, so please send in any questions that you would like us to address!<p>

**Q: Do you think using made up characters as a main character in a story is wrong?**

**A: **The GA fandom is for Mikan and her friends. Having a made-up character as the main character isn't what readers come to see. With that said, there have been plenty or stories wherein a main character was created by the author. Some take interest, and some don't. If you want to write a story with a character articulated by yourself, try writing on Wattpad or Tumblr or even Fictionpress.

**Q: Won't some people get mad at you if you try to help them?**

**A: **If they're asking for critique (which they are when saying, "please review"), then they should not get offended when you are trying to help. Make sure you are writing constructive criticism when you try to help, though; otherwise it can come off as something similar to a flame to the author and accidentally offend them. (Use the sandwich concept if needed: write a compliment for every two pieces of constructive criticism you give, or vice versa.)

**Q: How about you write a story in GA fanfic?**

**A: **We created this post to help the authors and readers of the Gakuen Alice archive. However, we still have many aspects of writing to learn and expand upon. If we were to write a story, it may contradict some of our tips. We created a community called **Writing Whims**, however, wherein we post many stories we think are worthy for consideration of expanding one's knowledge of writing.

**Q: May I ask whether it is acceptable to use suffixes like, 'Mikan-chan', 'Ruka-pyon', 'Natsume-kun', for example?**

**A: **Using suffixes is a tricky subject. Many know the meanings and many don't. It's all a personal opinion of whether you want the story to seem more Japanese or American or wherever country you're from. We suggest trying to keep the suffixes to a minimum or using them only to make a point (ie: Ruka-pyon symbolizing his connection with animals).


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